


Drifting Leaves

by CherryK



Category: Pandora Hearts
Genre: Autumn, F/M, Implied Relationships, M/M, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29976003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryK/pseuds/CherryK
Summary: Reim remembers the past watching the autumn leaves drift by.
Relationships: Reim Lunettes/Sharon Rainsworth, Xerxes Break/Reim Lunettes
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7
Collections: Pandora Hearts Month 2021





	Drifting Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> I'm here, I'm queer, and after more than a year... I'm back on my bs thanks to the phmonth21 project over on tumblr! Thanks to the hosts for their hard work, here's my contribution for the "Autumn" prompt during Rainsworth Trio Week!

The concept of time has become lost to the leaves drifting by the second-floor window of Rainsworth Manor. Reim’s gaze seems focused on their wind-swept dance, yet his mind couldn’t be further from reality. His hands rest on the windowsill as he sees past nature’s colorful transformation and catches glimpses of days gone by.

They used to play outside in those very gardens, back when they were children, when their world was yet to be uprooted by the tragedies of the past year. Xerxes, still several heads taller than either of them, would begrudgingly watch over them as Sharon hurled herself into piles of leaves, much to the groundskeepers’ dismay. Reim always worried she might hurt herself, but she would only pull him along, until the leaves were stuck in their hair, and their clothes were full of dirt.

One time, Sharon would collect the prettiest maple leaves she could find, and gift them to Xerxes with childish glee all but glowing in her eyes. Reim recalls this to be one of the rare occasions the man would answer with a true smile. The memory makes him ache.

His fingernails dig into the windowsill’s wood, as the scene changes before his eyes. The years have come and gone, and Reim finds himself taller than Xerxes now. They are bundled up in thick coats and scarves, as winter approaches fast. As usual, Xerxes would attempt to fill their silence with banter that day, but as Reim had finally finished weighing the consequences and slipped a gloved hand into his smaller one, even he would find himself at a loss for words. Reim couldn’t muster the courage to meet his eyes then, but when he squeezed Xerxes’ hand, he found the gesture returned just as firmly. He remembers the warmth spreading throughout his body, how light-headed he felt at the thought of his feelings perhaps being requited.

Although from that day on their hands and hearts were full of affection, neither of them ever said a word.

For Xerxes’ sake and guided by Sharon’s incredible strength, Reim has been doing his best to move on.

The sound of a door being opened pulls him back into the present, and he finds his knuckles as white as the cloudy sky outside. Heels click on the floorboards and soon gentle hands come to rest on his shoulders.

“I was looking for you, dearest. Are you alright?”

Reim turns to face Sharon – his closest friend, his light, his wife – and adjusts the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to worry you.” He gestures vaguely toward the window behind him, “I was just… thinking about how we all used to spend so much time in the gardens.”

A knowing look flits across her features, fuchsia eyes momentarily overshadowed by her own memories. Sharon, too, watches the leaves drift by for a while. Her hands find his as she returns her gaze to him. With a wistful smile she rises on her tiptoes to press a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“So long as we keep them alive in our memory, they will never truly leave us,” she states, her voice soft.

Reim nods, holding Sharon’s hands firmly as though she might slip away too if he were to let go. They are not alone, even if now and then it feels that way. He recounts the times they have built each other up again after particularly bad days, and truly, he could not feel safer than with Sharon by his side.

Many things may never be the same again, yet some remain as they were. Reim still yearns for the simplicity of feeling the whispering wind on his face, of finding the most beautiful leaf in the gardens, and of seeing her face light up as he presents it to her. A smile tugs at his lips at the idea.

“Don’t you think, my love, that this would be the perfect day for a stroll? The weather might not hold out much longer, so we’d best hurry.”

“I thought you would never ask.” Sharon grins as she links her arm with his, and they head for the door together.

**Author's Note:**

> There, I made myself sad. Did I make u sad too? Appreciate a comment if I did~


End file.
